2013: The (Half) Year in Review

James Blake perfoms on stage on Day 1 of Primavera Sound Porto Festival on May 30, 2013, in Porto, Portugal.

While 2013 is only half over, we can’t help but stop to consider the best tracks of the year thus far.

Our list includes everything from hip-hop anthems to tear-jerking ballads and synth-pop sing-alongs perfect for driving around with the windows down. There are contributions from seasoned veterans as well as brand-new talent — all stepping up, with toe-tapping, head bobbing results.

From post-punk to poppy hip-hop to indie dance to whatever you want to call the dub-step hip-hop mash-up that is the Skrillex/A$AP Rocky song “Wild for the Night,” 2013 appears to be the year of genre-bending. And, for the most part, the songs are incredible. If the rest of 2013 proves as fruitful, the end-of-the-year list is going to be just as hard to put together.